Did you hear that rumor that Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was very high on QB Johnny Manziel during the 2014 NFL Draft? So much so that the Cowboys almost selected him at a time when Tony Romo was dialed-in as the unquestioned primary starter.

Well, it turns out that story was true as pointed out by former Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett during a recent appearance on the Dan Patrick Show.

“Jerry [Jones] was enamored with the idea of having a quarterback transition. We had Tony Romo at the time. He loved the idea of Montana to Steve Young, Favre to Rodgers, those kinds of things.

“So he was being forward-looking on who is the next quarterback for the Cowboys and not being afraid to draft that guy. And he really liked Johnny Manziel, but it worked out that we had an opportunity to get Zack Martin, and we all embraced that.”

Garrett went on to say he was very proud of their decision to draft Martin instead.

Martin was the Cowboys' choice at No. 16 overall in the first round, and the Cleveland Browns drafted Manziel at No. 22 overall. Martin remains on the Cowboys to this day. He went on to be a nine-time All-Pro, nine-time Pro Bowler, named to the NFL's 2010s All-Decade Team and is a sure thing to be a future Pro Football Hall of Famer.

Jerry Jones' annual offseason missteps accumulate negative Cowboys' narrative

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones walks off the field after warmups prior to the game against the Washington Commanders at FedExField.
Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Manziel, on paper, had lots of reasons to appeal to Jerry Jones. The 2012 Heisman Trophy winner grew up in Texas and played college football at Texas A&M, right in Jones' backyard. If the Cowboys drafted Manziel in 2014, the Cowboys wouldn't have been likely to draft Dak Prescott in 2016.

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The overwhelming stories this offseason about Jones not giving a contract extension to CeeDee Lamb for so long or not re-signing Prescott have put a sour taste in a lot of people's mouths. The Athletic surveyed many NFL agents to get their opinions on the best and worst franchises, and some did not have kind words for the Cowboys.

“Cowboys. I don't think they want to win above all,” the anonymous agent said, via Ben Standig of The Athletic. “Jerry wants to turn profits and make headlines. I think the game has passed him by.”

Jones recently went on a profanity-laced rant about how he perceives himself as general manager.

“I’ve done it all,” Jones said. “So I have an ordinate amount of confidence that f**k, if anybody can figure out how to get this s**t done, I can figure out how to get it done. I’ve been there every which way from Sunday, and have I busted my a** a bunch, a bunch.

“And there’s nobody living that’s out cutting and shooting that can’t give you a bunch of times they busted their a**. So h**l no, there’s nobody that could f**king come in here and do all the contracts … and be a GM any better than I can.”

The Cowboys can put some of the drama to bed during their Week 1 road contest against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, September 8 at 4:25 p.m. EST.